VENTURES AFRICA – Randgold Resources, a west Africa-focused gold miner, has told investors on Thursday that it is on track to meet its production expectation for 2012 as first quarter profit more than doubled on a year ago.

In a bid to brush off worries over unrest in Mali, Randgold, in a statement, reiterated its commitment to meet production targets outlined at the start of the year despist the challenges experienced at Tongon and Mali.

Profit for the period rose to $104 million from $45.9 million a year earlier, but was down on the previous quarter’s $144.7 million – an expected fall after a drop in sales from its key Loulo-Gounkoto complex as it mined lower grade ore, and was hit by both stoppages and lower grades at its Tongon mine in Ivory Coast.

The FTSE-100 miner expects to produce 825,000 to 865,000 ounces of gold this year, up from less than 700,000 ounces in 2011.

Sales revenue had dropped 13 percent on the previous quarter while production for the three months came in at 165,443 ounces, up 19 percent year-on-year but down 13 percent in the previous quarter.

Randgold’s shares went down 20 percent mid-March, underling a falling mining index since troubles began in Mali, home to some two-thirds of its output.

After Mali experienced a military takeover in March, resumption of civilian rule in Mali is expected to ensure that the operations continue to run at full production in a country once split by the crises.

However, the country saw renewed clashes this week as loyalist soldiers tried to reverse the March coup.